PROCL AMATION

Prohibiting His Majefties Subjects to Trade within the Limits Affigned to the Governour and Company of Adventurers of England, Trading into Hadfon's Bay, except thofe of the Company. JAMES R.

Whereas Our Dearest 23rother Bing Charles the second of blefed Demory, did by his Letters pa tents under the Great Seal of England, braring Date the Second day of May, in the Libo and tibentieth Pear of His Reign, Incorporate a Gobernour and Company for carrying on a Trade in the North west parts of America within the Streights and Bay, commonly called Hudion's Streights s and bib Grant unto them and their acceffors, the Sole Trade and Commerce of all thofe eas, Sereights, Bayes, Rivers, Lakes, Creeks, and sounds in barforber Latitude they should be, Iping within the Entrance of the streights commonly called Hudfon's Streights, together with all the Lands, Counterps, and Territories upon the Coats and Confines of the Seas, a Lakes, Rbers, Crecks and sounds aforefaid, which bere not then poffelfed by, of panted to any of the subjeas of Dar fab Ropal zother, os poffelfed by the ubicas of any other Chriftian Prince of State, Thereby Creating and Conftituting the faid Governour and Compa my for the time being, and their Succeffos, the true and abfolute Lords and Proprietors of the fame Territories, Limits and places aforfaid, and of all other the remiffes, with expels pro hibition to all other the Subjects of Dur faid Royal 21other to Trade to the parts aforfaid. And whereas at art fatised that the faib Company bath for many years with great Inbußtry, and at a very great Charge and Erpence, Settled dibers Factories, Created feberal Fortifications, and maintained the Erade in the parts afozelaid, to the great honour and profit of bts Dur Kingdom, until of late frberal ill difpofed perfons not being embers of the faid Company, no Licensed by them, weferring their perbate profit before the publick good, babe contrary to the faid Ropal Grant, in a clandeftine and difozberty manner, Trabeb into thole parts, to the apparent prejudice, if not deftruation, of the Trade aforefaid, and in manifelt Contempt of Dur prerogative Royal and the better to colour their evil practices, do frame Deligns to hire, 02 do hire themfelbes out in the service of, as in conjunction with foreigners to sail to the parts aforesaid, to undermine and destroy the faid Companies tabe. e, taking the premilles into Dur Pincely Confideration, bo not only be Leave and Dired, That the perfons bho babe fo contemptuoudy violated the laid Companies Charter, be zofecuted in Dur Game at Law, in order to their con bign unishment according to their demerits, But for prevention of the like evil practices for the future, e habe thought fit, With the Advice of Dur Baby Council, to publish and Declare Dur Royal ill and pleasure to be, and we do hereby firicly robibig and Forbid that none of Our Subjects wharforber, ercept the faid Gobernour and Company and their succeffos, and fuch as thatt be buty Licenfed by them at any time or times pereaftre do prefume to fend or avigate any Ship es Ships, Url fel or Weffels, o erercife any Trade Whatforber direaly or indirectly on their own accounts, 02 in the service of, or in confun ation with any foreigner of Foreigners bacforber, to, in a from the laid straights and 28ay, called Hudfoo's Streights, 0 to, in 02 from any ayes, Ribers, Cracks or places whatforber, by what names of benominations forber they or any of them habe ben beretofore, or thall hereafter be called or diftinguished, that noib are of lie within the Entrance of Hudion's Sereights afozefaid, in what Latitude 0 Longitude forber the fame of any of them do, both or hall lie, remain of be within the Liberties, Territories, of Pribilroges of the farb Company, upon pain of Dur bigh Difpleafure, and the forfeiture and lofs of the Goods, Perchandizes, ships and Weffels which fhall be taken or found Trading in any the place of places afozelaid, or within the Limits afore ad. And we do hereby ariety Charge and Command all and every Out Subjects of what begre of quality fo eter, not Trading of Traff.quing, or Deligning to Trade of Traff que to or from the parts aforelaid, ez amp of them, contra ty to the true meaning of the farb Companies Charter, That they forthwith bo crafe and forbear fuch their Trade and Eraf fiqar, and withdraw themfelbes from the parts aforefaid. And we do further hereby freightly Require and Command all and fingular Dur Gobernours, Lieutenant-Gobernours, Admirals, ice-Admirals, Generals, Judges of all Our Courts of Atmiralty, Commanders of Dur Fors and Calles, Captains of Dur Ropat hips, Juices of the peace, Povolt Marthals, Parthals, Comptrollers, Collectors of Dur Customs, Wapters, searchers, and all other Our Officers and inifters Civil and Military by ra o Land, in all and every of Dur Dominions of plantations, and all other Our Subjects whatforber and whereforber, to take effectual care that no perfon or perfons wharforber (ercept the faid Company and their succeffors, and fuch as hall be duly Licenfeb) do fend of abigatt anph ps of effels, or erercite any Trade directly or indirectly from any of Dur Kingdoms, Dominions or tantations whatforber, contrary to the faid Charter granted to the faid Company as aforefaid, to any the places of Limits aforefaid, og from thence to any of Dur farb Kingdoms, Dominions, plantations, or other places And if any perfon a perfons hall perfume to ad or do in any fe contrary to this Dur Royal proclamation, de bo sill, Require and freightly Command all and fingular Our fato Gobernours, Lieutenant-Gobernours, Admirals, lice-Admi rats, Generals, Judges of Dur Courts of Admiralty, Commanders of Our Forts and Calties, Captains of Dur Ropal bips, Justices of the peace, robot-Barthals, Marthals, sheriffs, Comptrollers, Colleaos of Our Cuftoms, aapters, ratchets, and all other Our Officers and Minifters Civil and Military by Sea of Land in every of Dur faid Dominions and Plantations, and all other Our Officers, inters and subjects whatforber and thereforber, that as often as need hall re quire, they and every of them refpectively be Aiding and Affiling to the faid Company, their factors, Deputies, of Aligns, to Attach, Arrest, Lake and rise all fuch hip hips, Bellel os effets, Goods, wares and perchandises of Tuch perfon or perfons as ball be fed, Cimployed. o Traded in contrary to the Charter Santed to the faib Company, whereforber they fhall be found, for Dur fe, upon pain of Dur high Difpleafure, and as they will anfiber the contrary at their perils. Ciren at Our Court at Fireball the Ose and thirtieth day of March 1688. In the Fourth Year of Our Reign. GOD SAVE THE KING.

Land, Printed by Charks Bill, Henry Hills, and Thomas News, Printers to the Kings molt Excellent Majelly, 1688.

Stanbope Press

F. K. GILSON COMPANY

BOSTON. U.S.A.

Introduction.

THIS volume is the outgrowth of action taken by the Society at its annual meeting in October, 1906, when a committee consisting of Mr. Waldo Lincoln, Professor William MacDonald, and Dr. J. Franklin Jameson was appointed to arrange for a new volume of the Society's Transactions. At the April meeting, 1907, the committee was given power to proceed with the publication of the British Royal Proclamations relating to America, and in October following appointed the writer to edit the volume. The editor spent the summer of 1908 in England engaged in this undertaking.

The present volume includes all English Royal proclamations which concern North and South America, from 1603 to 1783. Only those proclamations are printed which emanated directly from the King. The numerous declarations and proclamations issued by provincial and colonial governors, the unauthorized proclamations of minor English officials serving in America, the proclamations of the governors-general of Canada and the Thanksgiving and Fast-Day proclamations of the New England governors have all been omitted. They are documents of another class, and exist in such profusion as to be quite beyond the scope of this volume. These colonial proclamations, furthermore, are practically never entered in the English records. As original broadsides, they are very rarely found in English depositories, but are scattered throughout the libraries and archives of America. Enough of these exist to form the basis of another volume. Limiting the present field to royal proclamations allows the subject to be covered with reasonable completeness.

Proclamations only are included, under which heading would come manifestos and declarations of the King. In a few cases proclamations were issued by the Lords Justices during the King's absence from England. The great mass of orders in council, which were occasionally issued as broadsides, but generally are found only in manuscript entries, are not included. These are now being printed in the "Acts

of the Privy Council, Colonial Series," the third volume of which has progressed as far as the year 1745. Another class of proclamations rejected are those of the Lords Lieutenants of Ireland, which repeat verbatim the English orders in council.

From the early days of English history, proclamations were issued by the Crown to make known to the people new acts or regulations or declarations of public importance. Distributed for public view in printed broadside form, they have been familiar to twenty generations of English-speaking people. Yet, in spite of their frequency of issue and in spite of their occasional importance as public documents, there has been scarcely a book upon the forms of English government or upon the history of records, which gives a detailed account of the method of issuing, entering, and publishing proclamations. It remained for Mr. Robert Steele to compile during the past year, "A Bibliography of Royal Proclamations, 1485-1714, with an Historial Essay on their Origin and Use." This work, in two folio volumes, forms volumes five and six of the Earl of Crawford's splendidly published series, the Bibliotheca Lindesiana, and in this country can be consulted at most of the large libraries. Mr. Steele so thoroughly treats of the issuing, enforcement, and history of proclamations, that more than a brief allusion to their method of publication is unnecessary in this place.

Proclamations, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries at least, usually underwent the following routine. They were drawn up by the Attorney General upon instructions from the Privy Council, then engrossed on vellum and signed by the King. After having been printed as broadsides in an edition of a thousand or more by the King's printer, they were sent by messengers to the sheriffs of the various counties and towns, by whom they were posted. A document of the period of Charles II preserved in the Public Record Office shows the method of issuing a proclamation:

"Proclamations how passed. - Proclamations are usually drawn by the Attorney Generall and assented to by the Council and brought down to a Secretary of State to be engrossed in vellum and soe signed by the King (without any attestation of the Secretary), then being dated they are sent (sealed in a paper) to the King's Printing House by a messenger, who of course receives for their service 2s. 6d. of the Printer. Then are printed off such a number as is judged convenient, and of them some Copys furnished on the K.'s and to the Secrys to the Councell, &ca.: and 1250 are carryed to the Clerk of the Crown